Abstract ▼

The paper deals with projections of Russia’s policy after Putin’s return to Kremlin in 2012. The focus is made on security and foreign policy issues. They are considered as twinned with the domestic affairs. In part of the paper author examines how the proposed rising of military spending impacts the Russian society, the state politics as a whole, as well as other relevant issues. The author insists that the increase/decrease of temperature of the US – Russia and Russia – the EU relationships is hardly only Russia’s concern.

Abstract ▼

The author discusses the relationship between the truth and criminal trial in general, with a special focus on war crimes trials and their consequences for the fragile processes of consolidation of violated collective identities in post-conflict states. The authors challenge the idea that a criminal trial is a search for the truth, and present a philosophical argument to the effect that the trial is in fact an event conforming to the model of what the author calls “quasi-epistemological games”, rather than the model of an epistemological engine. The purpose of the trial is quasi-epistemological, because the model of an epistemological engine entails that the trial is primarily a search for the truth, while this is not the case with criminal trials in general, and especially with war crimes trials. He argues that, while the criminal trial readily invites the truth of the events if it is discovered, it can be and often is both valid and valuable regardless of whether “the truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth” is discovered in its course.

Abstract ▼

The authors analyse the range of security integrations in the post-Soviet area and their impact on security of the broader Euro-Asian region, the Balkans and Serbia. In that regard, they point to the main organisational aspects of security co-operation in the Euro-Asian space that have primarily resulted from the autochthonous initiatives from the states in the region within which they plan or develop specific common forces. The most significant results have been achieved within the Collective Security Organization (CSTO) that was established on the initiative of Russia and a part of the former Soviet Republics, as well as within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was established on the initiative of Russia and China. Special emphasis in the paper is given to the security aspects of acting of the organisations mentioned above and their influence on Serbia and the Balkans, taking into consideration, above all, energy security.

Abstract ▼

The development of international trade on the world scale under the conditions of globalization, more than ever in the economic history has given prominence to the issues of given countries’ competitiveness and foreign trade companies. Competitiveness in foreign trade is a complex category affected by the factors of both economic and non-economic nature. With the increase of the degree of liberalization of foreign trade globally, competitiveness represents a very important factor that the results in this particular trade depend on and, consequently, realization of the developmental and stabilization objectives in the progress of trade. The Balkan countries are making efforts, through diverse forms of regional economic networking and economic cooperation, to define their competitiveness in foreign trade in such a way so as to ensure its higher level. The actions of this kind should change their relatively unfavorable position in international trade and improve the state in their foreign trade balance as well as balance of payments. In doing this, they encounter numerous problems of economic and non-economic nature, namely those that still condition their low competitiveness in foreign trade.

Abstract ▼

The author analyzes the regulation of institutes of responsibility for dishonest conducting of negotiations in normative acts of certain EU countries and the Balkans. He analyzes the rules of behaviour of parties during negotiations established through the court practice and theory in Switzerland, Germany, France and Hungary. In the paper the regulations of the most significant secondary sources of Contract Law have also been included and they are as follows: the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and Common Conceptual Framework (DCFR). Because of the great role in the regulation of pre-contract relationships, the author has devoted considerable attention to the principle of scruple and honesty.